My career so far includes the publication of both historical and
contemporary romance novels and a historical cozy mystery set on a
fictional Mississippi showboat. I began writing too many years ago
to admit, and struggled like most new writers who really have no
idea of the perseverance and dedication this career entails. But
there is nothing else I would rather be doing at this point in my
life.
After teaching for many years in Cleveland (I'm a native Ohioan),
Detroit and Fort Lauderdale, my husband and I began a business
venture that has kept us busy and often entertained for years. We
own an auction house in Davie, Florida, (yes, I am a fast-talking
auctioneer) and in the years we've held public auctions we've sold
everything from Oriental rickshaws to tokens from an original
Denver, Colorado bordello. But mostly we sell antiques and estate
furniture, and my interest in anything old and unusual has served me
well as a buyer. I love flea markets, the old- fashioned ones that
used to be set up in fields outside of towns, and I still own many
of the oddball purchases I've made.
I also like to travel the U.S. and enjoy visiting small towns and
back alleys where often times, "real" American stories can be found.
Luckily the men in my life, my husband of twenty-five years and my
patient, talented son who will soon graduate from college, have been
understanding about my desire to stop in every little out of the way
shop or crawl over one more hilltop to get a good picture.
At the 2000 Romance Writers of America® national conference, I
received the National Readers' Choice Award for best long historical
romance for HOMESPUN HEARTS. My first Harlequin Superromance,
THE MEN OF THORNE ISLAND, was nominated for the RT Bookclub
Reviewer's Choice Award and the Golden Quill. I now have four
Superromance novels either published or scheduled, and I'm having
the time of my life writing them. One reviewer calls my contemporary
stories "comedic romances with serious undertones," which suits me
fine since I believe life's most memorable moments are those which
make you laugh or bring you to tears.
